The outbreak of war between the US and Iran has made China the invisible beneficiary—without firing a single shot or spending a single cent.
According to US news website Axios, for example in the energy sector, China is among the winners of the US and Iran "dual blockade" of the Strait of Hormuz, largely thanks to Beijing's energy structure planning. China controls over 70% of the global supply chain for solar, wind power, batteries, and electric vehicles. When oil and gas are artificially "weaponized", import-dependent countries will accelerate their shift to renewable energy—benefiting China's green energy industry. The longer shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted, the more the world depends on China.
According to data from the US Energy Information Administration, China's strategic petroleum reserves reached nearly 1.4 billion barrels last December, compared to 413 million barrels for the US and 263 million barrels for Japan.
Although about half of China’s oil imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, its energy self-sufficiency rate reaches 85%; renewable and nuclear energy now account for more than 0% of China's energy consumption, and last year even surpassed oil to become the second largest energy source.
Axios CEO Jim VandeHei bluntly stated that the US-Iran war is exactly the stress test for the energy strategy that Beijing has designed.
In terms of international image, while US President Trump and Israel threaten to bomb Iran back to the “Stone Age,” Beijing has helped its “ironclad brother” in South Asia, Pakistan, to get the US and Iran to the negotiating table.
As for key minerals such as rare earths, because China controls about 70% of global rare earth mining and 90% of refining and rare earth magnet manufacturing, US weaponry used against Iran like the “Tomahawk” missile, JDAM bombs, and “Predator” drones all require rare earths to manufacture their precision guidance systems.